Admiral Halsey's WWII saddle heading home to Nevada

When the Japanese surrendered to Allied forces aboard the battleship USS Missouri on Sept. 2, 1945, bringing an end to World War II, a piece of Reno's history was on board.

The story of Admiral "Bull" Halsey's saddle brought Reno international attention in 1945, but it's a story that has faded during the past 67 years — tucked away, literally, in a wooden box in a Washington, D.C.-area museum's storage room for about the past 20 years.

Now, thanks primarily to Washoe Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, the saddle is coming home to Northern Nevada.

"Had it not been for the good work of Chuck Weller, this story may well have been lost to history," said Peter Barton, administrator of museums and history for the state of Nevada. "This is a real Northern Nevada story."

The story combines Reno's wartime patriotism with its penchant for publicity.

First, some background.

Admiral William Halsey was a popular World War II figure, known for his aggressiveness and bold statements. When his aircraft carrier, Enterprise, entered Pearl Harbor a day after the attacks of Dec. 7, 1941, Halsey declared, "Before we're through with them, the Japanese language will be spoken only in hell."

It was a later statement that caught the attention of the Reno Chamber of Commerce.

In March 1945, Halsey was asked at a press conference in Washington, D.C., if Japanese Emperor Hirohito's palace was a military objective. He said no, then added, "I'd hate to have them kill Hirohito's white horse, because I want to ride it."

Throughout the following weeks, the Reno Chamber of Commerce, then led by Forest Lovelock, hatched a plan to provide Halsey with a saddle for his historic ride. The chamber said if citizens of Washoe County purchased their quota of bonds in the 7th war bonds drive, it would have the saddle made for Halsey.

A letter was sent to Halsey's daughter, Margaret Spruance, seeking the admiral's measurements. She responded several weeks later, apologizing for her tardiness because she had just had a baby. (The chamber sent her a silver cup for baby Alice.)

The bond sales were over the top and the chamber commissioned Bools & Butler at 119 Sierra St., to build the saddle. Fred Lohlein, a saddle maker with more than 50 years experience, was charged with crafting the saddle.

Hoot Newman of Newman's Silver Shop, at 120 W. 2nd St., produced 116 pieces of engraved silver for the saddle.

The Reno Junior Chamber of Commerce commissioned a matching bridle, and the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe put its best craftsmen to work on a pair of ornate buckskin riding gloves. The left one featured a red silhouette of an Indian head and the right one showed an aircraft carrier on a white-capped blue sea.

To Tokyo Bay

The effort brought Reno international attention with pictures of the saddle featured in National Geographic, Life and Western Horseman magazines along with the major news wire services of the day.

"It just took off," said Weller, a World War II history buff and the historian for the Reno Council of the Navy League. "It was pop culture. It was headlines all across the United States. It just captured the imagination of the American people."

In late June 1945, a Chicago department store, Marshall Field's, sent a letter to the chamber asking to display the saddle in its storefront. The chamber agreed, with the caveat that if the war appeared to be at its end, the saddle would need to immediately be shipped to Admiral Halsey.

The saddle was completed in early August 1945 and displayed in the Boots & Butler storefront for a couple days before it, the bridle, a martingale and rope shipped to Chicago. On Aug. 6, the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, followed by the second three days later.

Japan announced its intention to surrender and the department store in Chicago had time to only take a few photos of the saddle before turning it over to the Navy so it could be expedited to Admiral Halsey in Tokyo Bay.

In Guam, it was loaded onto the USS Catamount, which departed on Aug. 19 for Tokyo Bay. Among the crew on the Catamount were Reno residents Lewis Sims and Wayne Asher. The saddle was transferred from the Catamount to the USS Missouri in time for the Sept. 2 signing of the surrender documents by the Japanese.

"On that day, Sept. 2, 1945, the ship issued a postcard and what's on the postcard — the saddle," Weller said.

Back to Reno

After the war, Halsey gifted the saddle to the U.S. Naval Academy Museum in Annapolis, Md.

"The museum was hot for it," Weller said. "It was pop culture, 2,000 people a day went to see the saddle. President Truman went down from Washington, D.C. Maybe he had other business, but he stopped off to see the saddle."

In 1946, the saddle was loaned back to the Reno Chamber of Commerce and displayed at various events in Nevada and California before being returned to the Naval Academy, where it has been ever since.

It was displayed until about 1990, when it was put into storage and largely forgotten.

"It fell out of history," said Weller, who has been working on a book about Nevada's involvement in World War II for the past eight years. It was while researching the book that he discovered the story of Halsey's saddle.

Two years ago, he went to Annapolis to see the saddle, which was stored in a wooden crate. The saddle, bridle and other mementos are there, though the gloves have long been missing from the collection.

Now, Weller, Barton and the Reno Council of the Navy League are finalizing plans for the saddle to return to Northern Nevada for at least three years. Barton said he hopes it will be an integral part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration, which will run from Nevada Day 2013 to Nevada Day 2014.

"This saddle is a wonderful piece of Nevada history," Barton said. "We'll be forever indebted to Judge Weller and the Navy League for making this possible."

Weller, meanwhile, said his entire World War II project has been a labor of love.

"I've always had a fascination with the Second World War," he said. "It was such a monumental piece of our history. Then, about 30 years ago, I moved to Nevada and fell in love with Nevada. Through the Navy League, I'm able to follow both of those passions."

What's next?

Plans are being made with the Nevada Department of Museums and History and the Reno Council of the Navy League to bring the saddle back to Northern Nevada on loan for at least three years. It will be part of the state's sesquicentennial celebration that will run from Nevada Day 2013 to Nevada Day 2014.

Saddle contributors

BOOLS & BUTLER SADDLE SHOP: Commissioned to build the saddle.

FRED LOHLEIN: Veteran saddle maker of more than 50 years was charged with crafting the saddle. It took him six weeks.

RENO JUNIOR CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Commissioned a bridle to match the saddle.

PYRAMID LAKE PAIUTE TRIBE CRAFTSMEN: Created a pair of ornate buckskin riding gloves, featuring a red silhouette of an Indian head on the left one and an aircraft carrier on a white-capped blue sea on the right one. The gloves have been missing for years.

Reno Council of the Navy League

The Navy League is a citizens organization that supports all the sea services – U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard and U.S.-flag Merchant Marine. The Reno Council is especially involved with the submarine USS Nevada and the surviving crewmen of the battleship USS Nevada, along with the U.S. Coast Guard Station at Lake Tahoe and youth activities. Membership is open to men and women. Corporate sponsorships are also accepted. Write to Reno Council Navy League, P.O. Box 6088, Reno, NV 89513, for more information.

About me

Guy Clifton is a lifelong Nevada resident, growing up in the Nye County mining town of Gabbs. He attended the University of Nevada, Reno and has worked at the Reno Gazette-Journal since 1994. He has worked in virtually every department in the newsroom over the past 18 years. He is also the author of five books on Nevada history.